


Owl You Need

by htbthomas



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Discovery, Gen, Light Angst, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28122174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/pseuds/htbthomas
Summary: "Those are—I mean, were, Chuck's. Dr. McNider's," Beth told the owl. "Yes, I know about him. Do you miss him?" She sure did. A pang of loss hit her again, as it often did at times. "I'm sorry, they don't work anymore."It blinked at her. Then it slowly rotated its head, this time to the right.And then it took to the air again, heading back toward the still-open window, the goggles grasped in its beak. One, two, three wingstrokes, and it was gone, flying into the night.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Owl You Need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gray Cardinal (Gray_Cardinal)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gray_Cardinal/gifts).



> Thanks to Innie for the beta!

_Tap._

Beth opened her eyes. She wasn't usually a light sleeper, but something had—

_Tap._

She sat up, eyes widening. The sound had come from the window. It was a dark night, sky full of clouds, so she couldn't see what had made the sound. Not to mention her glasses were still on the bedside table. She reached for them—

_Tap. Tap tap._

She brought the glasses to her face and settled the earpieces in place just in time to make out a dark shape in the window. "Yolanda?" she called softly, pulling her feet out of the covers and onto the floor. The shape didn't look like Yolanda, though, and anyway, why would she be coming over at—Beth looked at the clock—three in the morning?

_Flutter._

Beth stood in a rush. "Is that—?" she murmured to herself, then took several steps toward the window. "An _owl_?"

"Hoo hoo," the owl called back in answer.

"Fascinating!" she whispered excitedly, and walked the rest of the way to the glass. The clouds parted just enough then to allow the shimmer of moonlight on the bird's feathers, The wide round eyes blinked, then flashed a bright orange. "Oh!" she said, startled, taking a step back.

It was a great horned owl, mottled brown and black, each foot tipped with curled talons that looked wickedly sharp. It seemed large, too, though she'd never seen one this close up. It waited there on the other side of the glass as she examined it, patient and regal. A remembered tidbit from when she first met Chuck floated into her mind. "Are you Hootie?"

The owl gave her a long, slow, "Hoooooo."

That seemed like a yes. A shiver of excitement went all the way through her. She'd lost Chuck, but maybe not all of him! "I'm Beth!" she told him. Her? She wasn't sure, not without further examination. 

The owl's head swiveled forty-five degrees to the left. Its body, of course, stayed perfectly still.

"Can you understand me?" She frowned. "You probably understood Chuck, right? Maybe you had a telepathic connection..." And then she considered the thick pane of glass between them, blocking the January chill. "Oh! Silly me. I bet you could hear me better if I opened this—"

As soon as the glass was up far enough, the owl shot into the room with a flurry of flapping wings and hooting. She let out a yelp of surprise, stumbling backward a few steps to catch herself on the end of her bed. "Careful!" she told Hootie, hoping her parents weren't already on their way to her room to find out what the heck all the racket was. 

After a few hovering flaps in the center of the room, the owl paused, targeting something with its eyes. Then it plunged downward—to attack her backpack.

Beth yelped again; she had not expected it to attack anything in here, let alone a bag full of books. "There's no mouse in there, what are you—?"

The owl used its hooked beak to grasp the zipper pull and yank it slowly open. She had no idea that owls were so amazingly agile. Obviously, she knew they—Bubo virginianus—were incredible, but were all owls this skilled, or just Hootie?

She bent down toward the owl. "Here, let me help you," she began, but with a wide beat of its wings, it pushed her backward. She landed on her rear with an _oof_.

So she watched, a little dazed, as it got the bag open, dug inside for a few moments, then lifted out—

—the broken goggles.

Of course! It was looking for its owner! Maybe this was its way of communicating with her. "Those are—I mean, were, Chuck's. Dr. McNider's," Beth told the owl. "Yes, I know about him. Do you miss him?" She sure did. A pang of loss hit her again, as it often did at times. "I'm sorry, they don't work anymore."

It blinked at her. Then it slowly rotated its head, this time to the right.

And then it took to the air again, heading back toward the still-open window, the goggles grasped in its beak. One, two, three wingstrokes, and it was gone, flying into the night.

Beth shrieked, not caring that her parents _certainly_ were going to wake up! It took Chuck! Or the one thing she had to remember him by, other than his old costume.

She ran to the window. Even though the owl had _just_ left, she couldn't see or hear it at all anymore. With shaking hands, she closed the window against the chill and fumbled for her phone, opening the NJSA group chat. _HOOTIE TOOK CHUCK_ was all she could manage, blinking back tears.

Mom appeared at the door before anyone in the group had responded. "Beth?" she asked quietly. "What's wrong? Did you have a... bad dream?" She sounded confused.

Beth could understand. She'd always been an easygoing child, not prone to nightmares or upsets. In fact, she couldn't remember ever being as upset as she had been when Chuck's goggles were broken. When _Chuck_ was broken.

Though now was pretty darn close.

"Uh, yeah," she said, turning away so that her mom wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. "I dreamed I forgot to set up a study session for the history test. When I woke up, I realized I really had." She nodded down at the phone in her hands. "If I don't set up the invite now, I won't be able to go back to sleep." It was getting easier to lie to her mom. But she couldn't very well tell her the truth—not without going down a rabbit hole of uncomfortable reveals.

"That's my Beth," Mom said, relief in her voice. "Do you want me to get you a glass of water, or warm milk, or maybe chamomile tea?"

Actually, she'd love something, but the screen lit up with a reply from someone—Yolanda. So she stopped short of agreeing. "No, but thank you, Mom."

Mom shut the door behind her with a careful click, and Beth took a seat on the edge of her bed, reading the message. _what_ was all it said.

Oh! Yolanda probably had no idea who Hootie was. Beth started to type an explanation, now that her heart rate was slowing.

But before Beth could finish, Courtney jumped in. _the OWL?_ and then _omg_. How were they both awake at this hour?

 _what owl_ , Yolanda sent.

Beth started typing again, erasing what she'd already written, but again Courtney beat her to it. _chuck's. i thought it lived @ jsa hq. how did it find you?_

 _I don't know,_ Beth typed and sent before anyone could respond. Then all the implications washed over her and she said aloud, "Wait. JSA Headquarters?" She sent that in text. _WHAT JSA HQ?_

There was a long pause. So long that Yolanda said, _i wanna know too_ and _courtney?_

A tap on the window made her look up from the screen, and her heart leapt at the idea that Hootie might be back. But instead, Courtney hovered there on the Cosmic Staff, blonde curls flowing back from a face that looked... embarrassed. She mouthed, "Can I come in?"

Beth hopped up and lifted the glass all the way, so Courtney could climb through. The Staff dimmed to a dull glow that matched the look on Courtney's face. "So..." she said, grimacing. "...I may have forgotten to show you guys a few things."

* * *

Yolanda popped up and tapped a clawed finger on Rick's window. "He's going to be pissed when we wake him up," she said, baring her teeth.

"Well, he's not answering his phone," Beth explained, yet again, "and we need a ride."

Courtney had offered to take the three of them on the Cosmic Staff. "I think we'll fit!" she said, "and it won't let you fall, I promise." But the thought of that made Beth's stomach turn—she closed her eyes against fresh images of clinging for dear life to either the glowing metal or someone's waist, with a drop of hundreds of yards below them.

"Plus, you know Rick would be more 'pissed' if we went without him," Beth argued quietly. Yolanda shrugged and Courtney grimaced again and nodded. They'd had this discussion already. They needed Rick and Rick's car, so his anger was worth facing.

Yolanda flexed her claws again and switched to a slow _screech_ across the glass, not firmly enough to cut it, but loud enough to make both Beth and Courtney cover their ears and wince.

That did it. Rick was at the window, looking down at them, sleepy and swiping grumpily at his eyes. "What?" he mouthed.

Ten minutes later they were on the road, Rick’s brows drawn down low as he asked, “Why is this the first time we’re hearing about the JSA headquarters?" At least he wasn’t yelling, the way Beth and Yolanda had.

“I mean…" Courtney said. “I just... got everything already, the costumes, the other stuff... I didn’t think I needed to...” She trailed off apologetically.

“Clearly not everything,” Beth pointed out, then backed off. Courtney was already doing a lot of apologizing tonight.

“What if there’s something else you forgot was there, or something you didn’t know about in the first place?” Rick asked. “Or the history we’d be able to, I don’t know, experience?”

Courtney was nodding along miserably; it was all stuff she’d heard from Beth and Yolanda during the walk to Rick’s house. “I know I should have brought you guys long ago—I promise there’s nothing else.” At everyone’s sharp look, she insisted, “Really!”

A long moment passed.

Then she said quietly, “Pat is probably keeping some stuff from us still, though...”

The other three in the car broke out in a combination of disbelief, swearing and complaining. After it died down, Rick shook his head. “You _sure_ the two of you aren’t related?”

* * *

Beth thought she was going to faint when she saw the secret tunnel leading into the JSA Headquarters (much cooler than the ISA tunnels), but that was nothing compared to how she felt when they entered the conference room. The banners, the table, the high ceiling... it was majestic.

“Dang, look at the size of that thing,” Yolanda said, nodding at the table. 

Rick pointed at the banners. “Did they just—like to look at themselves all the time?” 

Courtney shrugged. “I don’t know why this place is even in Blue Valley. They were based out of Southern California back before...” She swallowed. They all knew what she was referring to. “I think maybe your dad built it, Rick.”

“As a memorial.” Beth was sure of that. “That’s why the banners, the pedestals, all of it.”

No one said anything for a while, and then Yolanda drifted over toward the banner of Wildcat. Soon, they were all taking a slow turn around the room. All except Beth—she could see the owl’s perch on one side of the room, and she made a beeline for it.

The owl had been here recently. Fresh scratches in the wood, a few stray feathers, the remains of... something it hadn’t finished a meal of. She wished she had thought to bring a baggie to place it in, so she could study it further later. 

But that was all she could find of Hootie, even after a thorough circuit of the room. With every passing minute, her wonder at the glories of the former JSA gave way to despair. What did it matter that she got to see all of this? Without the goggles, she’d never be able to repair Chuck. And without Chuck, she’d never truly be part of the New JSA.

Suddenly the weight of it all, along with the late hour, hit her. She sat down in one of the chairs at the wide round table, placed her head on her arms, and closed her eyes. The last thing she heard before slipping back into sleep was Yolanda asking, “Are there any more rooms, or is this it?”

The words seemed so final. “This is it,” she murmured and then she was asleep.

* * *

When she woke up again, it was in the backseat of Rick’s car. Had someone carried her here? Or walked her here, and she’d been too out of it to notice? She straightened up and blearily looked around. It seemed like they were somewhere on a country road between JSA HQ and Blue Val—

The car swerved and everyone screamed. Beth was awake now!

"What the—!" Rick yelled, and brought the car to a skidding sideways stop in the middle of the deserted road.

"It's the owl!" Courtney cried.

It was only then that Beth saw the tips of the wings. The bird landed with a thump on the hood of the car and gave them a baleful gaze. Or at least, that's what it looked like to Beth, given the glowing eyes and the horned feathers. "Hootie!" 

"Hey!" Rick complained. "Watch the paint job!"

Beth scrabbled for the door handle and tumbled out, hoping the owl wouldn't fly away again. She froze when she saw what it had in its beak. The goggles! Maybe she could get them back after all! She took one careful step after another, hardly daring to make a sound, even to breathe. If she moved slowly enough, she might be able to reach for them before it took off again. 

But it didn't move. Instead, it watched her as she came toward it, its gaze now considering. She stopped, pressing herself against the side of the car, hand stretching out one careful inch at a time. Her fingers came so close, the tips just brushing the strap... when the owl took to the air with a burst of feathers.

"No!" Beth cried, reaching toward it. "Come back!" And it stopped, swooping in a circle several feet above their heads, before flying with slow beats of its wings toward the west. Then it stopped and circled again, almost as if it were... "Are you trying to get me to follow you?" Beth asked, voice quiet.

Courtney was there beside her a moment later, Cosmic Staff whooshing and whirring. "Do you want me to go after it? I know I can catch it, but... I don't think it wants me."

Beth considered this a moment. "I think you're right."

"Then..." Courtney hopped up onto the Staff, now floating a few feet above the ground. "Get on. I know it seems scary, but I promise"—she patted the Staff—"we won't drop you."

It _did_ seem scary, but— She gazed over at Hootie again, flying in lazy circles as it waited. Could she really do anything else? "Okay."

* * *

The right word wasn't _scary_. The right word was _terrifying_. Beth fought between keening in terror, eyes shut tight, and trying to see where they were going. At first Hootie had shied away from the Staff, but once she called out to it, daring to let one hand go from around Courtney’s waist to wave, it continued on its path. 

“Where do you think it’s taking us?” Courtney asked.

Beth shook her head. If she opened her mouth now, she might be sick. The few times she opened her eyes to make sure they were still following Hootie, she couldn’t tell where they were going—all she could see was Rick and Yolanda and the car all getting smaller and smaller. She hoped Courtney knew where they were.

They started to descend, passing through the canopy of the forest, and Beth gripped Courtney more tightly. Finally, they landed, though she opened her eyes slowly to make sure they were really on solid ground again—

“Where are we?” 

They were in a clearing in the deep forest, the trees above so thick that even the faint light of the moon through the clouds was completely blocked. The Cosmic Staff’s light only illuminated a small circle around them.

But Hootie’s eyes shone just at the edge of that circle, glowing orange as if lit from within. “Hoo,” it told her, long and low, almost as if it were saying, _We’re here_.

They both took a step toward the owl, but Beth held a hand up toward Courtney. She could handle this on her own. “What did you want to show me?” she asked softly.

As she crept closer, the Cosmic Staff floated behind her, providing her its gentle light. She could see now that Hootie was perched in the large hollow of a tree, the goggles no longer gripped in its beak. Where had they gone? And there was something... blinking... just behind and below the owl’s talons. But she couldn’t really see it well; the owl was too high up.

Beth felt a nudge behind her, and heard the whirring of the Staff. And even though she’d been terrified just minutes ago, all her fear was gone, replaced by curiosity and a growing excitement. “Give me a lift?” 

The Staff lifted her slowly toward the hollow, and Hootie watched her rise, seemingly unconcerned. When she was level with the hollow and could see inside it, she let out a squeal. Within was a black device, LED lights blinking—how was it getting power, way out here?—along the side. But that wasn't what had made her squeal. On top of it, beside Chuck's broken pair of goggles was an identical pair. _Unbroken_.

“What is it?” Courtney asked. She had come closer to the base of the tree, chin tilted up, standing on tiptoe like that would let her see twelve feet in the air.

Beth didn’t dare say it out loud. They were goggles, sure, but were they _Chuck_? Another copy of him?

Even though Hootie didn't budge as she reached in carefully, she didn't trust her good fortune just yet. Her fingers closed around them. They felt cold, but familiar, worn with use, just the way the old ones had. Slowly she brought them out and slipped them over her head and eyes.

Nothing happened. 

She waited for a minute, sure they would power up any second, just as the others had, filling her eyes with green readouts and her ears with Chuck's confident baritone. 

Beth slumped with disappointment. For a brief moment, she had let herself hope that all would be well again, that she could rejoin the New JSA as a full member, but now...

With a lightning-quick movement, Hootie darted forward and pecked one side of the eyepiece.

She didn't even have time to scream or clutch at the Staff in shock, because the digital display flared to life. "Chuck!" she cried out. Below, Courtney clapped enthusiastically.

"Hello," Chuck said, voice as clear and calm as ever. "How may I be of assistance?"

“You’re back!” She clasped her hands together in glee, then wobbled and grabbed back onto the Staff for support. “I can’t believe it!”

“I have always been here.” Chuck’s voice sounded odd, considering. “I simply needed to be switched on.”

Wait. A trickle of dread flowed down her spine. “Chuck... do you know who I am?” 

“Of course,” Chuck said, sounding much too formal. “You are Beth Chapel, fifteen years old, student at Blue Valley High School.” Her details came up on the readout, just as they had the first time: birthdate, parents, GPA. But nothing about the JSA, nothing about Dr. Mid-Nite. 

Nothing personal.

“And you’re my best friend...” Her voice was quiet. “Or at least you were.”

“Ms. Chapel,” Chuck said, and it really hit home that this was not her Chuck, “I apologize. Were we acquainted before?”

Beth couldn’t answer him; her throat felt closed up tight. Just a minute ago, she’d been elated that Chuck was back, and now? They were going to have to start all over. The Staff began to lower her gently toward the ground, almost in time with the way her spirit was sinking.

“What’s wrong?” Courtney asked the second Beth's feet touched the ground. 

She cleared her throat to get the words moving again. “He doesn’t know me.” Swallowing, she croaked out, “He’s been—reset.”

“Oh.” Courtney shifted uncomfortably. “That’s... not _so_ bad, is it? You... have him back... in some way?”

"I guess." Courtney was right. It wasn't so bad, but they'd lost all that history, all the days of wondrous discovery, of getting to know each other for the first time. Things would never quite be the same—she'd always remember and not be able to keep herself from comparing how they'd used to be.

"Ms. Chapel," Chuck said, his voice interrupting her spiral. "I take it you used the other set of goggles in the past?" The display flashed a string of text, as it searched first the forest, then the greater Blue Valley area, then the state of Nebraska. "I cannot access them. Were they... damaged?"

"Irreparably," she told him. But a spark of hope straightened her back. "Unless... Can you fix them?"

"It is possible," Chuck said. "If I can analyze them. Do you know where they are located?"

She looked up to Hootie, still perched in the hollow of the tree, and the display went wild. Coordinates of the tree, the label "JSA Databanks, Node 7" (that's what the black device was!), Hootie's specific details: health (good), age (21 years, wow), weight (3.1 lbs.), gender (male!)... "They're up there."

"Very good. I'll ask Hootie to bring them down to you."

"How will you—?" she got out before the words _Owl Signal_ flashed on the screen. Hootie's head darted inside the hollow and came up with the broken pair in his beak, then he flew down to drop them a few feet above her. Just in time, she opened her hands to catch them. Wonderingly, she asked, "He can understand humans?"

"In a rudimentary way, he can understand—me, anyway. Dr. McNider developed a language that only Hootie can understand, with audio in the 0.5 to 10 kHz range. And Hootie is no ordinary owl."

"I can see that. He's amazing." He had gone to perch on a lower branch of a nearby tree, almost as if he were on standby for his next instruction. What else could he do? She wanted to know everything.

"Now," Chuck said. "Place the broken goggles next to the right eyepiece of these goggles. If they haven't been damaged beyond repair, we should be able to synchronize the data." And a few moments later— "Beth?" His voice was different, warmer. _Her_ Chuck. "I'm back."

"Yes!" Beth shouted, pumping the fist with the broken goggles into the air, and doing a little dance of joy.

"It worked?" Courtney asked.

"It worked!" Beth grabbed Courtney's hands and twirled her in a circle. Even the Staff got in on the act, spinning and whirring and flashing around the clearing. "I'm so glad you're back, Chuck." 

"Me, too, Beth." 

She clasped the broken goggles in her fist. She was sure they could repair the glass with Chuck's help—and after what happened to them the first time, it would be best to have a backup.

"So..." Courtney said. "Guess we should maybe... go home?"

She didn't want to. She wanted to spend the next several hours catching up with Chuck, asking him all the countless questions she'd thought of since she'd lost him. Even though it was almost dawn, Beth wasn't tired at all. But she knew her parents would worry if they found her bed empty when her alarm went off. 

Chuck showed her a map with Rick and Yolanda's location. "I've sent text messages to Mr. Tyler and Ms. Montez apprising them of our location. Do you want to rendezvous with them before returning home?"

"Good idea, Chuck." 

As the Staff lifted them from the ground, Beth turned to look back at Hootie. "Tell him thank you," she asked Chuck. "I couldn't have done this without him."

Chuck's voice was fond. "He knows."

* * *

Beth managed to slide back between the covers just as the sky began to lighten; she might be able to catch a little bit of sleep. In another hour, her alarm would go off, and she'd probably go to the kitchen for breakfast just like it was any other day. But she knew better. This was already a better day than the one before.

She glanced over at where the goggles lay on her bedside table. After breakfast, she'd go out somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed, and spend the day with Chuck. She got a warm feeling all over just thinking about it. Maybe they could go back out to the forest, to the tree with Node 7. Or maybe she could ask him to show her where the other nodes were, which would certainly be useful information. Or maybe— 

_Tap._

Beth's eyes flew to the window. Sure enough, Hootie was there, his uncanny gaze directed at her.

She threw back the covers and ran to the window to open it. "Hootie!" she said. "What now?"

The bird shifted from foot to foot on the edge of the window casing, but didn't answer her, not even with a hoot. She wished she could communicate with him—

Oh. Duh. As she went to grab the goggles, she wondered: would her parents let her keep an owl for a pet? Or maybe it was better to let him live in the wild, and come to her as he needed. He could probably feed and shelter himself better than she could anyway— 

Another thing to find out, she thought with a smile, and slid the goggles back over her eyes.

🦉


End file.
